


Knowledge Or Death

by violethowler



Series: Steampunk Voltron [1]
Category: The Great Library Series - Rachel Caine, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Artifex!Hunk, Artifex!Pidge, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Culture Shock, F/M, Fish out of Water, High Garda!Adam, High Garda!Lance, High Garda!Shiro, Lingua!Matt, M/M, Medica!Sam, Multi, Obscurist!Keith, Steampunk, The Great Library Fusion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-17 06:19:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15455214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violethowler/pseuds/violethowler
Summary: Humanity hasn't invented the airplane or even discovered electricity yet, but that doesn't stop five young people  from dreaming of what it's like to travel through the stars.Re-posted from fanfiction.net





	Knowledge Or Death

**Author's Note:**

> Since I couldn't find any crossovers with Rachael Caine's amazing steampunk alternate history series The Great Library, I decided to make one myself. And the image of a Voltron/Great Library crossover was burrowing around inside my head for a while when I first started this fic, so as I was finishing up Hic Sunt Leones, I thought I might as well start laying out the groundwork for my next VLD crossover. I figured it would be a fun idea of an AU where the Paladins are living in a very low tech world and going from that to the advanced technology of Voltron, the Galra, etc.
> 
> With Season 7 coming out I'm reworking the story to include things I didn't know when I first started writing this a year ago, like Adam and Shiro's illness. 
> 
> Before I get started, let me just lay out the ground rules of how this story will be formatted.
> 
> "Talking"  
>  _Thinking_  
>  _"Written text"_  
>  **"Codex message"**
> 
> And a quick explanation before we start: In the Great Library books, each chapter is preceded by Ephemera. These are short interludes that typically consist of either written exchanges between characters about major events happening on and off "screen", or a character's personal diary entries reflecting on the events of the previous chapter. I kept up with that as I wrote this, so I just wanted to give everyone a heads up.

## Ephemera

* * *

####  Text of a letter from the Artifex Magnus to the Archivist Magister, in the year 1983, secured and coded at the highest level of security. Destroyed upon reading.

_"The last of the preparations have been made. The entire crew has been informed of the dangers associated with this assignment and have agreed to the risks. Everything is ready. However, I feel at this crucial juncture I must inform you of my concerns. Our newest Obscurist has been completely unruly since he was brought to the Iron Tower. Keith Kogane has been belligerent with the Obscurist Magnus, and only cooperates with us because of Commander Shirogane's involvement in this project. While his power as an Obscurist is unmatched, I feel that it was a mistake to involve him in the Lunar Exploration Project. Should the project team perish, Kogane has enough knowledge of the expedition to destroy public confidence in the Library. Something must be done to curb his rebelliousness._

_Nevertheless, we await your order to proceed._

_Tota Est Scientia."_

* * *

#### Reply from the Archivist. Destroyed upon reading.

_"Do not worry about Kogane. The Obscurist Magnus has assured me that should any unfortunate accident befall our trio of explorers, he will be confined to the tower until he can be allowed near the formulae of Codices without fear of him tampering with them. Scholar Holt's wife signed confidentiality agreements promising not to speak of the project to the public in the unlikely event of her husband and son's deaths. If anything goes wrong with this project, we will station High Garda near her home and increase surveillance of her communications, both written and verbal. In any case, a potential Burner attack is a far greater concern than the possibility of a grieving young man lashing out at those he holds responsible for his brother’s death._

_Today is a momentous day. After two decades of work, we are finally sending human beings beyond the reaches of Earth's atmosphere. While Scholar Goddard's liquid-fuel rocket was too dangerous to be produced, the idea of travelling beyond the limits of Earth to explore the stars is a noble goal. Today will be the final determination of whether such ideas are great aspirations intended to be championed as goals to aspire towards, or foolish delusions that must be consigned to the Black Archive to ensure that humanity does not go where we are not meant to go._

_You have your orders. Proceed as planned._

* * *

## Prologue

* * *

_"Status update?"_

Takashi Shirogane let out a relieved sigh as the letters scratched themselves into the page of his Codex. _Good_ , he thought to himself as the text finished forming on the paper. _My Codex can still get a signal this far from Earth_. It had taken the brightest minds of the Great Library over half a century to come this far, and now, they had finally done it. They were standing on the surface of Earth's moon. It had taken thirteen Obscurists and half the Artifex division decades just to figure out how to put a Translation Chamber on the moon. After that was another twenty years of creating the suits that allowed him and his crew to survive outside of Earth's atmosphere. They'd been reconstituted inside the metallic pod an hour ago, and while Scholar Holt and his son Matt were outside in their "Atmosphere Suits" as the Artifex Magnus had christened the bulky things, Shiro was inspecting the Translation equipment inside the hut-like structure making sure that none of the equipment was damaged and securing it in the low gravity. Shiro smiled as he pulled out a stylus and penned his reply.

_"We made it. We're alive."_

With his response sent, he closed the notebook and pocketed the pen. Judging by how long it had taken for the message to reach his codex, it would take another hour for Keith to receive the status report in his own journal back on Earth, and then another hour for Shiro to receive his friend's reply. Against the objections of the Artifex Magnus, Keith had been placed in charge of the expedition's communications because of both his connection with Shiro, and because of his skill in manipulating the alchemical formulae the Obscurists used to operate virtually every aspect of the Great Library. This expedition was unprecedented, and since they were leaping into the unknown with no way of knowing if they would survive, Shiro had put his foot down and insisted that Keith be a part of the project.

At twenty-four, Shiro was one of the youngest High Garda Commanders in the history of the Great Library. He'd graduated from the training program in Alexandria at the top of his class and had been promoted to captain almost straight out of High Garda training. Gossip around the complex speculated that he'd probably be running the entire High Garda before he turned thirty. If he said he wanted his closest friend and adopted younger brother to work on the Lunar Exploration Project, then Keith would, the Artifex's paranoia be damned. Once Shiro was satisfied that everything was intact and secured, he hopped away from the Translation pod that had been sent up in advance of the mission towards where the other two members of the crew were gathering samples.

"Be careful, son," The older man told the youngest one. "These samples are delicate." While Scholar Samuel Holt's theories about the existence of life outside Earth were seen by the Library administration as childish at best and dangerous at worst, Shiro still had great respect for the man, and considered the elder Holt to be the smartest man he'd ever met. He'd also become good friends with both of Scholar Holt's children during the year they'd spent preparing for the mission, although only Matt was joining them today. Matt was about the same age as Keith and had been finishing his Artifex training when he'd been offered the change to explore beyond the reaches of Earth's atmosphere. Over the last year, Shiro had quickly learned that Matt and his sister Katie had always shared their father's dream of walking among the stars.

"Amazing," Matt Holt whispered as he sealed the sample bag and handed it to the High Garda lieutenant assigned for security on this mission. "Isn't this exciting, Shiro?" The twenty-four-year-old shrugged.

"You guys get a little more excited about rock samples than I do," Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane replied with a teasing chuckle as he leaped through the low gravity to the large hunk of metal that had delivered them there. It had taken the Obscurists in the Iron Tower four years to prepare for this journey, but despite his nonchalant façade, Shiro was still amazed at where they were standing. Adam had been concerned about his health, but the trip wasn’t planned to last more than twelve hours. That and Scholar Holt’s reputation as the best Medica in the Library was enough to ease his fiancé’s worries. Few knew about Shiro’s illness, and the only person to object to him being on the mission was the Artifex Magnus. But nobody considered the man’s opinions since he’d made it clear from the beginning he was biased against the project and was looking for any excuse he could to shut it down.

"This is history in the making, boys," Scholar Samuel Holt said as he collected another sample of lunar soil. "We are the first human beings to ever set foot beyond the boundaries of Earth's atmosphere. And not only that, this could be the stepping stone to studying the possibilities of life outside Earth."

"Think about it, Dad," Matt commented as his father passed him the sample bag to seal. "We could be the first people to meet extra-terrestrials."

"That would be a dream come true," the older Scholar replied dreamily. Shiro almost chuckled at the situation. He’d heard that sigh many times before while attending some of the elder Holt’s lectures about the possibility that humankind wasn’t alone in the universe. Many in the Library had mocked the man for it, but to Shiro, that was the sigh of a man who knew his dream could be achieved if only people set aside their preconceptions and see what he could see. So he didn’t begrudge the man for taking every chance he could to express his satisfaction with finally starting down the road to proving his theories. But the peaceful, almost serene moment was soon ruined as the ground began to shake around them.

"What is that?" Scholar Holt asked incredulously. "Seizmic activity?" _That can't be right_ , the young commander thought to himself as he regained his footing. _The moon doesn't have the plate tectonics necessary for seismic activity. But that's not a priority right now_.

"We should get back to the Translation Pod," Shiro suggested firmly as he moved to start pulling the Holts in the direction of the pod. But before they could leave their dig site, a massive shape loomed on the horizon. Head on, it resembled the bottom piece of a clarinet, but the rows of purple lights training behind along the dark metallic surface only confirmed to the trio that whatever that object was, it hadn't come from Earth.

"It can't be," the elder Holt gasped. For a moment, Shiro and Matt were too stunned to speak. For centuries, Library Scholars had debated and theorized on the existence of life beyond Earth. And now, definitive proof loomed above them in the sky like a jug of Greek Fire about to splash down on their heads. Takashi snapped out of his stupor at the sight of a bright light beginning to emit from the top of the alien ship's bow, between two hull protrusions which made it look like a dragon about to breath fire.

"Come on," he called out as he grabbed the Holts by the hand and rushed back to the Translation Pod as fast as their bulky space suits would allow. "Run!" But it was already too late. The alien vessel released its beam, sending a wave of pink light sweeping over the area. Gravity seemed to reverse as it swept toward the three explorers, sucking lunar rocks and their own equipment up towards the metallic maw. Shiro cried out in surprise as the beam swept over him and his companions and they too, were sucked up towards the strange ship.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself on his knees in front of a tall, imposing figure aboard the strange vessel, his hands bound behind his back and his helmet removed. For a moment, he panicked expecting to find himself choking from lack of oxygen. He quickly realized that he was still breathing, and calmed down as he noted that the ship had a breathable atmosphere.

"Emperor Zarkon," he heard a voice say as he blinked to force away the residual fatigue of unconsciousness. "We were scouting system X9Y as ordered when we found these primitive scientists. I don't think they know anything useful." Shiro frantically looked up as he snapped awake to see a humanoid figure standing before a large window. Were it not for his surroundings, Shiro would have thought that the person was human. But despite the similar body type, the full body metallic armor and purple skin were a dead giveaway that he was about to make first contact with an alien civilization. The being stood before a device that appeared to be little more than a transparent sheet of glass suspended in front of the vessel's front windows, addressing someone who appeared to be a leader in their civilization.

"Take them back to the main fleet for interrogation," a second voice emitted directly from the image, much to Shiro's surprise. "The druids will find out what they know." Fear coursed through the twenty-four-year-old as he realized that these extra-terrestrial beings did not have peaceful intentions. He looked to his right and saw that Scholar Holt and Matt were still unconscious. That left just him to speak on behalf of their planet.

"Please," he called out to the alien in front of him. "We come from a peaceful planet. We mean you no harm. We're unarmed." Before he could say anything else, he felt the familiar pain of a rifle being smacked against the back of his head. The last thing thought that course through his mind before he passed out again was worry about what Keith and Adam would think when the crew's next status update never came. The next time he woke up, he found himself being dragged through the metal corridors of the alien vessel by his hands. The Holts were being prodded along by guards that, from what Shiro could tell were similar in function to Library automata.

"They brought in another one," he heard a deep voice say to his left. He turned to see a pair of eyes peeking out from a small slit in a door that clearly led to a prison cell. As he blinked away the spots in his vision, he looked to his right and saw rows upon rows of pink tinted windows showing similar cells, extending onward so far that Shiro couldn't even see the end. The young man's eyes widened in horror as he realized just how far out of his depth he and his colleagues really were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed the dialogue from the first episode to illustrate that despite the different technology levels, the circumstances behind Shiro and the Holts' abduction are more or less the same.
> 
> Let me just lay out the basic ground rules of the Great Library universe for those who haven't read the books yet. In the series, the library of Alexandria, Egypt never burned down like in real life, and has gone on to become an international institution and a global superpower in its own right. But over the centuries, the library has hoarded its knowledge, only allowing information to be made available to the public in small drips. The administration sees it as their duty to guide the development of mankind, and "protects them" from knowledge they consider dangerous. Despite having access to more knowledge than they did in the ancient times, by the 21st century, people live in a steampunk world bordering on Magitech. Private ownership of books is illegal, punishable by fines, prison, or execution depending on a book's rarity. In the late 1800s, a terrorist movement called the Burners sprang up in protest of the Library's control over what people could read, but they get little sympathy from anyone because, as their name implies, their methods involve book burning and setting people on fire in public places.
> 
> Some basic terminology that will crop up in the TGL aspects of the story:  
>  **Codex:** Basically a pseudo-fantasy version of a Kindle or other ebook reader that can "download" any titles available from the Library's collection for public viewing. Can also be used to send messages.  
>  **Archivist Magister:** The chief administrator of the Great Library.  
>  **High Garda:** The Great Library's private security force.  
>  **Artifex:** The Library's engineering division.  
>  **Medica:** The branch of the library specializing in medicine, anatomy, and other biology-based sciences.  
>  **Lingua:** Based on tumblr speculation, appears to be the Library's Linguistics department. I originally had Matt and Sam as Medica, but since Matt was revealed to have been the communications officer on the Kerberos mission, I felt linguistics would fit better with that role, especially since Matt mentions in Black Site learning how to translate Galran to English.  
>  **Obscurist:** Alchemists with semi-supernatural abilities who work for the library to power all the fantasy elements of the series like Codices. _Paper and Fire_ basically says that Obscurists' abilities are a combination of magic and alchemy.  
>  **Translation:** Teleportation fueled by the Obscurists' alchemy.


End file.
